Pop Music with Soul

Burt Bacharach and Hal David wrote this song about a person from San Jose who tries to make it but doesn’t in show business in Los Angeles and winds up homeward bound. The prominent bass drum, played by session musician Gary Chester, sounds like a car bumping along the freeway.

In 1968, “Do You Know the Way to San Jose” became in international hit for Dionne Warwick. It also won her a Grammy Award. Warwick first released the song on her album Dionne Warwick in Valley of the Dolls. Then it was released as a single with “Let Me Be Lonely” as the B-Side. The single went to #10 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and Cash Box Top 100, #23 on the Billboard R&B Chart, #4 on Easy Listening, #15 in Australia, and #8 in Canada, the U.K., and Ireland. There have been many covers of the song, including versions by Connie Francis, The Temptations and The Supremes together, Neil Diamond, Nancy Sinatra, and The Carpenters.

Warwick was born Marie Dionne Warrick in East Orange, New Jersey. Besides being among the most-chartered female vocalists in a variety of genres from gospel and R&B to pop, Warwick is an actress and TV show host. She also has been a United Nations Goodwill Global Ambassador  for the Food and Agriculture Organization and a U.S. Ambassador of Health. Warwick continues to tour and perform.

Here are the lyrics to “Do You Know the Way to San Jose” by Dionne Warwick:

“Do you know the way to San Jose?
I’ve been away so long
I may go wrong and lose my way
Do you know the way to San Jose?
I’m going back to find some peace of mind in San Jose

L.A. is a great big freeway
Put a hundred down and buy a car
In a week, maybe two, they’ll make you a star

Weeks turn into years, how quick they pass
And all the stars that never were
Are parking cars and pumping gas

You can really breathe in San Jose
They’ve got a lot of space
There’ll be a place where I can stay
I was born and raised in San Jose
I’m going back to find some peace of mind in San Jose

Fame and fortune is a magnet
It can pull you far away from home
With a dream in your heart you’re never alone

Dreams turn into dust and blow away
And there you are without a friend
You pack your car and ride away

I’ve got lots of friends in San Jose
Do you know the way to San Jose?

L.A. is a great big freeway
Put a hundred down and buy a car
In a week, maybe two, they’ll make you a star

Weeks turn into years, how quick they pass
And all the stars that never were
Are parking cars and pumping gas

I’ve got lots of friends in San Jose
Do you know the way to San Jose?
Can’t wait to get back to San Jose”

If you are interested in an album of songs by Dionne Warwick, please click on the photo below:

Check Out The Groove Pad for More 1960s Music

The Pass the Paisley Groove Pad is a resting stop, a place to chill out and listen to the featured song on the stereo. If the mood strikes you, click on the juke box to access and listen to the 50+ free online songs there. The TV has several channels, with selections updated twice a week. Every now and then, Pass the Paisley hosts an all-request of 1960s and 1970s songs for a Be-In at the juke box in the Groove Pad. Keep on truckin’. Hope you enjoyed “Do You Know the Way to San Jose” by Dionne Warwick.